


First Kiss

by garrideb



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Amusement Parks, F/M, First Kiss, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-16
Updated: 2011-07-16
Packaged: 2017-10-21 11:22:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/224630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garrideb/pseuds/garrideb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaiba is in new territory, so he clings to romantic cliches as his guidelines.  Life doesn't always hand you a first kiss atop a Ferris Wheel, however.   Written: 8/2006</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Kiss

Who was more nervous about the inevitable first kiss?

Most people saw the young redheaded girl with the shy smile and thought that she must be more nervous. Looking at her bright, innocent eyes it was easy to believe that this was her first date - that the boy next to her would be the first to feel those lips, and see if she tasted like the cotton candy he bought her when they first entered the park.

And the boy? What would he have to fear? He walked so tall that it was hard to imagine he feared anything, much less a tradition of romantic love. Then again, perhaps this was because when he glanced around, his eyes were hard as if he was ready to fight anyone who questioned him. Those who met his gaze glanced away quickly. They saw a young man who had already faced demons.

But when he looked at the girl, his expression changed. A man could face down darkness and still be at a loss when a girl held his hand. And this young man had lived more than a decade without loving anyone but himself and his little brother. Most days, he only loved his brother.

Seto Kaiba was in new territory.

Perhaps that was why he didn’t roll his eyes and refuse when Shizuka asked him to come to the fair with her. Well, he did roll his eyes. But even though he’d much rather spend an evening with her in a private room at his favorite French restaurant than at a park teaming with noisy idiots, there was an upside. A date at a fair might be new territory for Kaiba, but there were maps.

Even the CEO of Kaiba Corp could not escape the quagmire of teen movies. He had seen the scenes where the boy took the girl to the fair, so he knew what to expect. As long as he knew what was ahead, as long as he could prepare, he could excel.

So far, he followed the script perfectly. They arrived at the park at dusk. The night was warm, but there was a breeze that took the edge off of the heat and carried the scents of the fried food thorough the air. Kaiba bought Shizuka a stick of pink cotton candy right away, and she nibbled on it as they meandered through the rows of concession stands and games.

The knot in his chest tightened as they wandered through the fairgrounds. Kaiba knew what would happen: eventually they’d wander past the Ferris Wheel. Then, Shizuka would pause and suggest that they ride it. Kaiba would pay for the ride, and the couple would board the small carriage. The wheel would turn.

And just like it was supposed to be, the lights below them would look mesmerizing. Maybe, at first Shizuka would lean away to drink in the view, but sooner or later she would turn to him with a smile. At that point, Kaiba will be required to kiss her.

Perfection wasn’t an option - it was a necessity. It was new territory, but his map was in his hand and he wasn’t going to get lost.

They passed a small stage squeezed between a corn dog stand and a haunted house. A band was playing, four kids with bleach blond hair and piercings. The sound they were making was... something with guitars and drums. Kaiba was amazed that anyone was sitting on the chairs placed haphazardly in front of the stage, but the group apparently had some fans. Either that, or there were a surprising number of deaf fairgoers.

Shizuka was on the same train of thought, apparently. She grinned when Kaiba winced at a particularly loud chord, and teased in halting German, “Without music, life would be an error.”

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, both at the quote and the terrible pronunciation. “I doubt Nietzsche would count that as music,” he responded. It didn’t surprise him anymore that the soft-spoken girl could quote philosophers. When he first met Shizuka, he had dismissed her as simple and dull. Now he knew she had hidden talents, like the German language she had picked up while staying in a Berlin hospital. It would have amounted to nothing, but she had continued teaching herself even after her eyesight was restored and she had returned to Japan.

He was teaching her now, when he could find a moment in his hectic life. Her drive to improve herself held a strength Kaiba liked to see. It was bizarre, and Kaiba didn’t quite understand why, but he felt refreshed after an hour spent teaching Shizuka.

And now, they were on a date. He would kiss her, and it would be like signing a contract. If he did this right, she would stick around.

His heart raced as they neared the side of the park where the Ferris Wheel stood. It’s colored lights flashed on and off, lighting up the spokes of the wheel. He tore his eyes away because the knot in his chest was making it difficult to breathe. Clenching his fists at his side, Kaiba felt a surge of frustration. His nervous reactions were unacceptable.

Beside him, Shizuka had pulled another wisp of cotton candy from the stick. Their eyes met and she smiled again as she slipped the candy into her mouth. It must have instantly dissolved, because despite a lack of chewing, her mouth was empty when she spoke. “Do you want to try one of the rides?”

He nodded. Shizuka pointed ahead and said, “Let’s go on that.”

Kaiba looked where his companion was pointing, and released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Shizuka hadn’t chosen the Ferris Wheel. Instead, she was pointing at a giant pendulum of a ride. Large red letters on a sign proclaimed it the _Screaming Eagle_.

Even as they watched, the arm of the ride swung in a great circle, pausing with the passengers upside down at the very top. It wasn’t obvious at first if the arm would continue in its momentum or swing back, but after a moment the ride continued it’s arc down. There was a collective scream as the passengers plunged. “Okay,” Kaiba said. At the moment, he’d rather risk a noise-induced headache than a kiss.

The seats were in rows of two, and they sat in the first row. As the ride operator pulled the safety bar down, Kaiba examined the contraption that would be flinging him upside down. The rust and faded paint placed it at least at ten years old. Beside him, Shizuka seemed unconcerned that she was putting her life in an ill-maintained artifact, so Kaiba decided to look on the bright side - he’d get a little adrenaline this way.

“Are you scared?” Shizuka asked as the ride started to swing forward. She looked at him and laughed at her own question. “Of course not. Sorry.”

The ride swung back and forth in increasingly taller arcs. It was actually somewhat enjoyable, especially with the girl beside him grinning and breathing hard like she’d just won a marathon.

The next swing brought them almost over the top, but instead they held for a moment far above the fairgrounds. Kaiba let his head fall back with gravity and smiled. He was surprised at how relaxed he felt, and turned to share this rare moment of contentment. Shizuka already was turned towards him, her hair hanging down like a curtain and her eyes bright in the low light.

He was strapped in a seat next to the girl who he was prepared to keep in his life, hanging upside down in a carnival ride dozens of feet above a gathering of loud brats and idiots. It was absurd. He leaned towards Shizuka, suddenly unafraid.

He was in a place he never predicted he’d be. It was obvious now that there were no guidelines, no maps. Leaning further, he pressed his lips to hers, their noses slightly squished in the process. He held on to her even as the ride continued its circle, their foreheads touching as he caught a breath before she found his mouth again.

Time must have skipped, because the next thing he knew he was right side up and stationary. The safety bars lifted, and Shizuka dropped her head against his shoulder, saying, “Let’s go on the Ferris wheel next.”


End file.
